Hello! Been lurking around here for a while now and decided to sign up and start posting. I bought my wife a new Turbo Beetle and I took ownership of her Red 2003 SE with an automatic.

Before today, it was completely stock. I did the Stealth CAI today (great writeup btw!), put on Hawk HPS pads on new rotors, ordered a SVT front brake setup from BAT, and threw on a set of 99 Contour SVT wheels. So far, the car is an absolute blast to drive and it reminds me so much of my old 98 CSVT ("friend" totaled it last year).

Plans for the future include either an SVT suspension conversion or BAT spring/shock upgrade with an SVT rear swaybar with reinforced rear control arms, balance shaft removal, swapping in an SVT exhaust with flanges so it can be removed, new tires all around, "freshening up" the exterior with a headlight swap or restoration, new tint, and either a plasti-dip'd paint job or vinyl wrap to change it to a matte black or white.

This is an awesome website and I hope to be a part of it for a long while!

calebstubstad

01-17-2013 12:11 AM

Pics or it didn't happen!
[welcome][ffrocks]

prextacious

01-17-2013 12:25 AM

Hahaha sounds good! I'll put up pictures in the upcoming days ... gotta get it washed and looking fresh!

calebstubstad

01-17-2013 12:26 AM

Find the Rally Revolution section, and post up dirty pics! I hear ya though on needing a wash, up here it's impossible to stay clean with road salt and crap

prextacious

01-17-2013 12:56 AM

It's rough keeping a car clean here. There's just enough precipitation to bead up on the paint, but it's not wet enough to keep the dirt down, so the wind always picks up and dusts the car. Now with the "winter" upon us, the salt on the roads makes it impossible to keep a car clean. Oh well ... one of these days, I'll own a gold car so the dirt doesn't show =P

Sonic_HedgeHog

01-17-2013 01:53 AM

Welcome... Check out the regional thread. We have semi regular meets around here.

prextacious

01-21-2013 07:26 PM

Just got my big box o' parts from BAT with the SVT brake swap! In an hour, I got the passenger side installed and by golly ... what a difference! I'm glad they fit under the SVTC wheels! I guess the "hardest" part of the whole deal was getting the axle nut off. I was able to press the spindle into the knuckle pretty easily and everything installed very easily.

I'm very impressed with how quickly BAT shipped the parts and Ford impressed me as well by shipping calipers preloaded with pads, their boxes/shipping pieces were robust, and everything, so far, has bolted up easily. Looks like I'll be doing axles with the new suspension in the upcoming month. I can't wait to get the brakes bled and bedded in!